Dentistry wellness

Mental health and wellness are important for your overall health. Below are activities and services in and around the University of Toronto, that are meant to sustain your wellness and enrich your student experience. This is a selected list of resources compiled by Dentistry library staff to support our users. It is by no means exhaustive. If you have any questions or feedback, please let us know.

“Director of Student Life Dr. Richard Rayman is an advocate for all students and engages them by listening to and discussing their successes, concerns and struggles in academic, clinical and personal matters. He also acts as a facilitator for students, helping develop a sense of professionalism, responsibility and ethics as students prepare to enter the workforce. Dr. Rayman is committed to supporting all students individually and collectively to maintain the best possible student experience.”

416-864-8121
Office Room 200

Services at the University of Toronto (UofT)

HealthyU: The University of Toronto is consistently working to improve student wellness and as such, a number of services are available throughout the university. For an overview of services available in the areas of stress-reduction, healthy-living, social events and more please visit the website.

Student Life Office: The mission of the Student Life Office is: "Through our work and partnerships, every student will have the opportunity to actively participate in university life; find connection, community, and friendship; encounter new ways of thinking and being in the world; and experience leadership, independence, and success." Their many departments offer a variety of programs and services to support students on anything that may arise while studying at UofT. Visit their workshops page for more information.

School of Graduate Studies (SGS): SGS offers individual counselling options, in addition to wellness groups at their office, located at 65 St. George St. Their individual counsellor works with students short term on topics concerning studying at the graduate level to build strength and resiliency. SGS wellness workshops include topics such as better coping skills and balancing school and well-being. These workshops begin at the start of each new semester and, in addition to being available in group format, can also often be completed online, helping those who may be unable to attend due to scheduling conflicts. For more information or to register for these workshops you can visit the website or call Health and Wellness at 416-978-8030.

Student Crisis Services: This webpage provides a quick reference in situations where a student is in crisis. This could include issues with mental health, personal safety, extreme academic difficulties, among other potential problems. If you or another student is in crisis and unsure of where to turn, this page can be used as a quick reference guide for who to contact at the University of Toronto.

Service in Toronto

Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH): CAMH offers free, confidential services for those living with mental health and/or addiction. They offer a wide variety of programs including individual counselling, group counselling, peer support groups, in-patient treatment and an emergency department for mental health crisis. CAMH has a number of locations across the city, with the main hospital located at 250 College St. For more information please visit www.camh.ca or call 1-800-463-2338. Service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Gerstein Crisis Centre: Gerstein is a 24 hour community based mental health crisis centre offering a crisis line, a mobile crisis team, group counselling and short term in-patient treatment options for those aged 16 and up. Services can be accessed by phoning their crisis line at 416-929-5200.

Anishnawbe Health Toronto: In person and crisis line assistance for mental health and addictions, with services based on Aboriginal culture and traditions. The crisis line is 24 hours, 7 days a week. In person services can be accessed Monday-Friday, 9 am- 5 pm. Clients must identify as having Aboriginal ancestry.

Online and phone

211: 211 is a phone and online service that provides information on programs and services available in any city across Ontario, in a number of different areas, including mental health.

Assaulted Women’s Hotline:A service for women who have experienced any type of abuse. They provide counseling, emotional support, information and referrals for local services. Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week the hotline can be reached at: 1-866- 863-0511.

City of Toronto eCounselling: The City of Toronto offers eCounselling, a free, confidential service that provides information on mental health promotion, mental health services and other health issues. From Monday-Friday, 9am-4pm there are trained public health nurses are available through the eCounselling website to help answer questions and provide information on local resources.

Distress Centres Ontario (Toronto): Provides 24 hour support and information for those struggling with mental health, stress or just need someone to speak with. All volunteers are trained and in addition to support they can also provide referrals as needed. More information can be found at their website. For support call 416-408-4357 or visit the website.

Drug and Alcohol Helpline: Provides service over phone and online chat, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Callers are connected to information and referral specialists who can provide information, emotional support and referrals related to drug and alcohol abuse and dependence. Call 1-800-565-8603 or visit to connect and receive support and information

Good2Talk: A free, confidential helpline that provides support, information and referrals for post-secondary students across Ontario. Call 1-866-925-5454. Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Ontario Mental Health Helpline: Connects users to a trained information specialist who can help callers with understanding mental health, community referrals and listening support. The service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Connect with the Mental Health Helpline by calling 1-866-531-2600 or visit the website.

Yoga at University of Toronto

Yoga is an excellent way to destress, exercise your body and relax your mind. There are a number of options available to UofT students for yoga classes on campus.

Faculty of Dentistry: The Wellness Officer, Faculty of Dentistry, offers hatha yoga classes during lunch time for the members of Faculty of Dentistry. Please check your email for announcements and details.

Multi-Faith Centre: Runs yoga and meditation classes throughout the week from September to April each year. There are various class levels and locations (including ones very close to dentistry) and times to help increase accessibility of classes. Visit the website for times, locations, schedules and class level.

Athletic Centre: The Athletic Centre of UofT offers both drop in and registered classes for yoga. Registered classes are small and fill up quickly, with new classes beginning in September, January and May. Drop in classes are held at various times and locations each week. All students who have paid their incidental student fees have an automatic membership to the Athletic Centre and access to registered and drop-in classes. Visit the website for schedules and more information: or check out the current drop-in schedule.

iRelax: Located at the Faculty of Information's library (Inforum). This mindfulness area offers its visitors yoga mats, meditation cushions and stools, and print learning resources on a first-come, first-served basis for use throughout the Inforum.

N.B. All students who have paid their fees have access to these programs. Staff, faculty and alumni can receive membership at a discounted fee and qualify for these programs with their membership. Membership to the Athletic Centre does not include membership to Hart House.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR)

Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) is a method of stress reduction that combines deep breathing, muscle tension and mindfulness meditation to allow for relaxation of both body and mind. Below are some example of exercises you can do to relieve muscle tension.

AnxietyBC: AnxietyBC is a collaboration of concerned customers, professionals, parents and caregivers devoted to increasing the public's awareness of and access to reliable resources on anxiety. All content on this website is grounded in scientific research and developed by professionals who specialize in helping people with anxiety.

HealthLinkBC: HealthLink BC brought together some of British Columbia's most trusted and recognized health information services including: the BC HealthGuide, BC HealthFiles, BC NurseLine, Pharmacist Services, Dial-a-Dietitian, and the Physical Activity Line (PAL) - and expanded these with an online and by-phone navigation service. This integrated service provides valuable information for healthcare decisions.

Pain Resource Centre: The PRC is a place on the web where people can obtain reliable information about pain so that they can help themselves, their clients, their family members, friends, and co-workers.The information that you will find in the Pain Resource Centre has been written and compiled by Canadian experts in pain and pain management who have volunteered their time to create this valuable resource.

WebMD: The WebMD content staff blends award-winning expertise in journalism, content creation, community services, expert commentary, and medical review to give our users a variety of ways to find what they are looking for.

TRIP: TRIP is a clinical search engine designed to allow users to quickly and easily find and use high-quality research evidence to support their practice and/or care.

Mindful: Non-profit organization representing the voice of mindful community. On their website, you will find articles and tips on how to stay mindful and practice relaxation activities.

Adult Colouring

Coloring pages for adults: This website has free, printable, coloring pages. They are organized by topic and subtopic for easy browsing.

Art is Fun: This website is filled with instructions and suggestions on coloring. Although the artist,Thaneeya McArdle's, books are for sale, there are a selection of colouring sheets that you can download for free.

Pinterest: An account is required to download colouring sheets. There are many colouring sheets available to download for free on Pinterest.

Let us know what you think

What do you think of this page, the Spotlight on Wellness display at the library, or the display in the Dentistry Student Lounge? Please take a moment to fill out our survey in order to let us know if we missed any useful wellness resources on the UofT campus, or to provide us with other suggestions for improvement. Thank you!